NB programs listed as underperformers

By Barbara Brown
Two North Branch school district programs made the stateís list for underperformance after results were compiled for the federal ìNo Child Left Behindî education initiative.
More than 250 Minnesota schools failed to pass statewide tests or achieve markers set in place since the federal law went into effect.
Schools were not only judged on test scores, but also on achievements for adequate yearly progress in areas like attendance, graduation rates and turnout for state testing.
The only two North Branch programs to be listed were the districtís Alternative Learning Center (ALC) and the distance learning program.
Both schools were listed for lagging attendance rates.
North Branch schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Stepaniak said Tuesday the district would continue to ìlook at it, digest it to see what we are going to have to doî about low attendance at the ALC.
Students who attend the ALC often have family and other relationship issues and problems with mainstream classrooms which help to create attendance problems in the first place.
He said the stateís bar for attendance had been set at about 95 percent for each school, but that rate is difficult to achieve for a program like those at the ALC.
ìIf that is the case, itís going to be difficult down the road to keep schools off that list,î Stepaniak said.
Stepaniak said he was not sure why the distance learning program ended up on the list because attendance is not required in that program.
Mostly elementary-aged students participate in the program as a supplement to home schooling, Stepaniak said.
He said the North Branch district was one of the first in the state to implement the program about 15 years ago and that students from all over Minnesota are enrolled in the North Branch program.
North Branch Middle School principal Jan Ashlin will be in St. Paul today to meet with state education officials on how to approach the next steps in North Branchís process to get off the underperformance lists, Stepaniak said.
He said the district may not appeal its placement on the list depending on what happens in the next few weeks regarding attendance requirements.
ìAt this stage weíre really pleased with the results,î Stepaniak said.
North Branch Assistant Superintendent Rodney Reisnouer said during the school boardís June 26 work session that he would not have been surprised if North Branch schools were listed as ìneeds improvementî schools.
He said preliminary test results the administration received that week showed great looking scores, but he prepared the board to hear some bad news.
He was not available this week for comment regarding the fact that none of North Branchís school were on the list for test score deficiency.
In June, Reisnouer had said the lists could be seen as subjective, however.
He said schools were divided into 9 educational subgroups such as special education, English as a second language and free and reduced lunch program students.
To achieve a grade level acceptable score, a student must have scored 1,420 out of 1,500 on the tests, Reisnouer said.
He said one of the aims of the subgroups was to determine if there is any discrepancy between the ìhavesî and the ìhave notsî with regard to educational opportunity.
ìWe could be fine overall, but if we have one subgroup that goes below 1,420, the whole school is on the list,î Reisnouer said.
One benefit of not having listed any of the districtís mainstream programs as needs improvement could be that the district may be able to examine its procedures for placing students in special education.
ìMaybe we over-diagnose special education,î Reisnouer said after the June 26 work session. ìWe could use the test results as a way to start looking at that.î
As for the ALC and distance learning programs, the district will have until August to appeal the status as an underperformer.
As of now, the district will have to notify parents of the programís status. If an appeal is denied, the district may have to make some changes in its encouragement to attend classes for the coming year.
If the programs are listed for a second year, parents may have the option of taking their child out of the underperforming program and enrolling them in a school within the same district that is not listed.
Should a third year come with the program remaining on the list, the school has to pay for private tutoring, among other repercussions.
No Rush City schools were listed.

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